China Cancels Talent Show 'Happy Girl' For Being Too Democratic

Chinese TV talent show "Happy Girl" had hundreds of millions of
fans, and loads of people were participating in its voting. Then
the government canceled it.

According to
The Economist, the government cited two reasons: First, the
show went beyond its 90-minute time slot during prime time.
Second, it was considered pretty risque.

Its coveted slot is now going to a show about house cleaning.

Officials didn't explain exactly what was so racy about the
program, but everyone knows anyway. Happy Girl's predecessor,
Super Girl, got canceled because it allowed viewers all over
the country to vote for the winner. Happy Girl tried to avoid the
same fate by just allowing members of the studio audience to
vote, and by pretending it was just a regional show. But that
wasn't enough to make officials happy.

And with statements like this one of from newspaper, The Economic
Observer, why would it be?

“Some people sigh that if only we could vote in Chinese
elections, as we do in ‘Happy Girl’, then we’d lock horns and
join the contest…This is the truly sensitive issue.”

There were a couple of other things they couldn't stand about the
show as well. Officials didn't like the massive audience
competing with more staid programs, they didn't like contestants'
emotional outbursts, and they definitely didn't like that this
year's winner looked kind of like a boy.

The Communist Party's Central Committee meets next month. Touting
the “the great development and great prosperity of socialist
culture”, is on the agenda.